Monthly Archives: September 2016

Acts 1:8 (NIV) states, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” As Christians, our duty is to share the gospel; and the Holy Spirit will come upon us and He will give us power to do just that. At CIM Canada, we take this verse seriously as we serve the Lord by telling others about Jesus Christ cross culturally to the ends of the earth. Currently most of our ministries have been centred in the African countries of Ghana and Togo but we are beginning to explore opportunities as the Lord leads.

In this month’s News Update, I want to focus on our ministries in Togo. Bordered by Ghana, Burkino Faso, and Benin, this West African nation is a relatively small country covering a land mass of 56,785 square kilometers. It extends 587 kilometers inland from the Gulf of Guinea and is 64 kilometers wide at the coast and 145 kilometers wide at its widest point. French is the official language of Togo, but most districts and tribes have their own dialect as well. The capital city is Lome, right next to the Ghana border in the south.

Led by our Togo ministry director Pastor Matthieu Ayena (who was born and raised in Togo and now living in Toronto, Canada), CIM partners with “Eglise de la Grace en Christ” (EGC) to provide pastoral and church leadership training for local church workers. STM teams go on visitations and evangelize in open meetings, through radio broadcasts, outreach and discipleship. As with our Ghana ministries, most of the works that CIM does in Togo are in the more remote areas.

This past August, Pastor Matthieu along with three women from Montreal travelled to Togo for a STM. For Jade, this was her first experience on African soil. She shares what this trip meant to her:

“I am so grateful to Him for leading me to Togo. He showed me beautiful things, beautiful people and just a glimpse of how awesome He is. When I was asked about my expectations, I couldn’t think of any, because I didn’t know what to expect. I was just hoping for the best, and preparing myself for what I had to prepare for. I knew that this trip would be fruitful, at least for me, but I was refraining myself, not letting myself expect too much or too little, because God works in mysterious ways that even if I tried, I wouldn’t be able to understand …

While in Togo, I saw God’s grace through sermons, songs of praise and prayers. I saw Him through the people, who have welcomed us, and how He has given them a burning passion, a fire that is pushing them to reach out to others, to build the body of Christ here on Earth, and I am so touched by their humbleness and their eagerness to serve God. They may lack on materialistic resources, but their spirits are filled with God’s goodness …

Prayer has helped me rely on God even more now than before, and it has also made me more aware of His presence. Knowing that He always listens to us is really comforting, especially when I was put in situations that are far from my comfort zone such as speaking in front of a lot people, or just speaking to strangers. I also really enjoyed praying with the youth because it is so heartwarming to hear them pray. Their faith has motivated me to learn even more about God and to be His active faithful servant. I am so thankful to God, for putting so many beautiful people on our path in Togo with whom I was able to evangelize with. He equipped us with His words and has sent us out with the Holy Spirit to bring glory to His name. I feel extremely encouraged by my brothers and sisters in Christ, knowing that we share the same goal, that we go through some similar difficulties, but also seeing that we are not alone and that God is always present, and planning for us …

I now see evangelizing differently; everybody has the right to know Christ and everyone should be given the chance to. Plus, since I can evangelize overseas, I should also evangelize to people close to home! This experience has given me the courage that I needed, to speak out about my relationship with God.”

God is awesome and amazing. He is at work everywhere and He desires us to be a part of His team. He is at work in Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, the United States of America, Togo, and to the regions beyond. CIM Canada is a part of this team as we serve Him cross culturally on a global scale.

If you are interested in any of our ministries or joining one of our STM teams, please visit our website at www.cimcanada.org

May God bless you all.

Sincerely,
Rev. Isaac Quan
Executive Director

Financial Highlights for the month of August 2016

(please click on the table to enlarge)

– All financial figures are in Canadian dollar and rounded to the nearest dollar.
* Adjusted balance